A short gift of time

He was 18. He was a strong, muscular young man, who had his whole life in front of him. He developed a fever, and a few days later his eyes turned yellow and they brought him to the hospital. I saw him the day after he was admitted, his skin was very warm with a fever, his eyes were bright yellow and he was so sick that he was not able to talk, eat or drink. I looked at his labs and found that his liver and kidney were not working as they should. I knew his prognosis was bad, I was worried he wasn’t going to make it through this illness. After finishing examining him, I looked up at his mom, who was very lovingly caring for him, trying to keep his fever down with cool sponges, putting a little water up to his mouth to wet his lips. His mom was standing next to him, holding his hand and anxiously waiting for me to tell her good news, unfortunately, I didn’t have much to share. Hepatorenal syndrome has a very high mortality rate. I was hoping that his youth would spare him, that his kidneys would start working soon with the IV fluid and the antibiotics we were giving him, but I had a lot of doubts. I shared, with as much hope as I thought was appropriate, that he was very very sick and may pass away. She seemed to understand and so we prayed and I…
Source: A short gift of time from Erin Meier – Asia Pacific